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In this video, I share 20 Arm workouts that will help your arms stay strong and toned. You can do those workouts ANYTIME and ANYWHERE.– NO EQUIPMENT NEEDED – NO GYM NEEDED
All you need is your energy and some space.

How can you put those workouts into use?Pick 5 of the workouts, repeat each move 10-15 time, then do 3 sets of all.

WORKOUT CLOTHES DETAILS:

Sports Hijab:
– Hooda Ellips Sports Hijab in Black
– Hooda Hijab for Dry and wet use with Zipper in Beige
– Raazglove in Grey
(I like to keep my sports hijabs under my clothes. This is just my preference)

Weigh loss can be difficult if we don’t understand why we need to lose weight. It can also be confusing if we don’t know how.
But before you jump into any plans to lose weight, you need to keep in mind that weight loss is permanent.

Think about your goals

Here are some points that you need to consider before starting your weight loss plan.

Get out of the Ideal weight/look mentality: Be realistic. Genetics play a big role into how we lose/gain weight and how we look.

Assess why you need to lose weight: Is it for health issue or just to follow trends?

Commitment: Don’t break the promises you make with your body. Losing and gaining weight again and again can cause more harm than good.

Dieting stress: Are you able to handle dieting? Are you going to follow random diets? Never follow diets that are based on one food group or takes out an important food group out of your meal. Always be supervised by a professional.

Make slow and steady plans

Assess diet / exercise needs

Here is a video for you that further explains the mentioned points. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Busy with work, chores, family, cooking or studying? The list goes on and everyday, we struggle to find time to be THE superwoman who is fit and healthy-looking at all times. But everyday we go through battles – being tired, having daily conversations with ourselves on delaying or postponing work, sometimes salah/solat, and working out. We allow ourselves to dwell into unhealthy meals, snacking and drinking sweetened beverages.

About a year ago, my weight reached 51 kg and body fat percentage was 33%. The past months, I manage to keep my weight at 45kg, BMI 19 and body fat percentage 25%. I eat the most, alert and fastest at work. Working out and eating healthy are routines in my life. I am not a health expert – just an average jane who wants to improve health condition and loves to share.

The battles between making emotional and logical choices are always there. While we know we need to make logical choices, we are all emotional vulnerable beings. One way to avoid emotional choices is to embed healthier choices in daily routines. Here are 8 simple steps to keep a healthy lifestyle, which I practise on a daily basis.

2. Find an activity you can do on a daily basis
Just like praying and eating, make working out your daily routine. Once it is a routine, you need to be able to perform the activity anytime, anywhere. Find an activity that you enjoy and that motivates you to be be good at. As for me, even though I love swimming, I choose to run on a daily basis because it is faster and easier to perform. I perform other types of activities if I have extra time.

As for me, I plan to work out before shower or meal times ?. I cook or prepare meals while cooling down. It saves time.

Plan your day, make sure you workout in a safe environment if you are alone. If you cannot find a gym or unable to workout outdoor, tabata or yoga indoor instead. Make sure your family members know your whereabout when you workout outdoors.

Time is precious, so is your health. Plan your time well.

4. Dress smartly, suit up in comfy activewear if you are NOT at work

Changing from office-wear to activewear can be time consuming. Therefore, always be in your activewear so that you can quickly run or work out when you have a 40 min window. ?‍ You spend lesser time changing clothes and more time sweating out. ?Make sure your running shoes or workout attire and gears are accessible at all times. ? Leave them in your car if needed.

5. Eat healthyFresh fruits, vegetables and nuts offer you vitamins, protein and minerals to provide good nutrition for your body. It helps reduce body fat level. When you train your body to eat healthy, it will naturally reject unhealthy food over time. Healthy, balanced meals may not look fancy, but they are easier and faster to prepare. Tastier too!
Tips to eat healthy:

Make and pack your own meal

Fill up your kitchen with fruits, vege and nuts, especially those you can eat raw like carrots, banana, apples & grapes

Baking or grilling brings out the flavour from meat, and they are healthier & easier to make

Pick healthy menu when dining out

Make healthy choices : Fresh & Nutritious

If you are eating healthy, ignore what others have to say about it. What you consume affects your body, not theirs.

6. Get 6-7 hours of good rest or sleep everyday.

Studies show that exercise helps you sleep better. When you sleep, your heart & blood vessels get repaired & healed. Hydrate your body well. Drink a glass of water before and after bedtime.

Don’t let your measurements slip! Make it a daily check if you can, even though it is not recommended by medical practitioners. It is harmless. Do invest in a good weighing machine that tells your BMI, Body Fat percentage & muscle mass. Then you will know how to balance workout and food intake that help you keep a healthy weight, BMI & Body Fat. Workout & eat healthy daily and watch these indicators improve.

Weigh Daily and understand your body better

8. Tweak your activities & food intake accordingly to achieve your targets. REPEAT
It is a slower process, but sustainable as the routine would help you understand your body and achieve a healthy and active lifestyle.

Don’t forget to visit, update, talk to and get feedback from your doctors on regular basis on your overall fitness condition. They are the best in giving medical and health advises.

Have a healthy lifestyle and fight all the excuses that delay you from achieving ideal fitness level. I hope the above sharing helps. I am just another lady who wants to keep healthy. Good luck & enjoy your routine!

Do you find yourself…

feeling guilty after eating at Eid buffets or “kenduri”?

gaining weight?

feeling sluggish with low energy?

not able to run as fast as you used to?

Then it might be from all those unhealthy food choices that we make during our Eid feasts. We cannot avoid from fulfilling invitations to open houses, especially from friends, family, or relatives that we have not seen in a while. However, we can still make healthier choices. Don’t forget to burn off those excess calories too!

However, if you do fall into the trap of over-eating, you can always burn off those raya goodies. Here’s a reference of how much your favourite ‘kuih’ or cookies, their calorie count, and how much work out it takes to burn off, so plan your menu accordingly!

Adapted from: Singasports.com/health-fitness/8-hari-raya-goodies

Kuih

Serving size

Calories

Equivalent to…

Pineapple tart

1 piece

82kcal

8 rounds of continous lap swimming

Kuih Bangkit

1 piece

23kcal

5 minutes of jumping jacks

Kuih Makmur

1 piece

57kcal

Walking up a flight of stairs to the 10th floor

Honey Cornflakes

1 small cup (approx 15g)

61kcal

20 minutes of yoga or 11 minutes of Zumba

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 piece

110kcal

Weight lifting at moderate intensity for 15 minutes and then row for 13 minutes

Kek Lapis

1 slice (approx 30g)

147kcal

Cycling at 15km/hr for 17 minutes

Popiah/ Spring Roll

1 handful (approx 45g)

228kcal

4km run

Spicy Tapioca Chips

1 handful (approx 68g)

317kcal

Circuit training with weights/ aerobics class/ other strenuous high intensity exercise for at least 45 minutes

Looking for a training program that is effective and women-friendly? Try the Electric Muscle Stimulation (EMS) training program. It is a total body workout program using external electro impulses. EMS training is used for various purposes; body shaping, improving strength and speed, oint-sparing muscle formation and to improve posture. Fazilah, finds the EMS training help reduce back pain and improve posture.

Adilin all geared in EMS

There are two types of EMS training:

1. Miha Bodytec (Personal Training)Researches by Bayreuth University and the German Sports University in Cologne have shown that EMS training is up to 18 times more effective than a conventional work-out at gym! It uses electro stimulation to achieve stronger and more intense muscle contractions than a normal exertion. You can build muscles and achieve better form, depending on intensity and goals. This includes three types of programs that uses different electro frequency, duration and pause.

Build Muscle, Reduce Fat with EMS

2. Activation Class (Group training)Like Eleeza who had fun doing new things with the office colleagues, I too find this program more exciting. This is because it has three types of classes with different types of training I.e. e- Tabata, e- Fat Burn and e- Dance.

E-tabata ClassE-tabata training is one of the most popular forms of high-intensity interval training (HIIT). It is a 20 mins class, consists of eight rounds of ultra-high-intensity exercises in a specific 20-seconds-on, 10-seconds-off interval. E-tabata training can raise your metabolism and heart rate immediately. Our body will have to work much harder while performing exercises at a very high intensity. Metabolism of your body will increase and good for fat burning.

E-fat Burn ClassThis training session uses gym equipment to make our body works harder to maintain muscle over fat. Strength training can boost our metabolism – to burn more calories throughout the day.

Group Workout is always FUN!

E-dance ClassDancing is always fun. At the e-dance class, you can choose your style and intensity level at a 25 min class and burn as much as 250 calories using the EMS.

Nashata has many fans who have benefited from EMS training. Thanks to FixMe Studio at Setia Wangsa, they are offering 15% discount for Nashata customers who register with them from 25th March – 30 May 2017. Get onto our mailing list to get the special vouchercode or whatsapp us at +60123112489.

For further questions about EMS training, contact Adilin from FixMe Studio at +60 19-730 3085 or instagram account fixmestudiostw

A study conducted by Univeristi Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Medical Center in 2015 shows that women in Selangor tend to gain weight after 40 years old, and more so if they are married and with kids. I am in that category – 42, married and I love food and always feel like munching away. Is it the food, hormones, lifestyle, genes that make me gain weight? The list goes on and I continue to wonder why.

Even though I don’t have weight problems, I could easily gain weight and have high body fat level should I lead a sedentary lifestyle or consume poor diet. Now, I manage to control my weight by having a balanced diet and frequent exercises.

What I have learned is – Everyone is different and we need to find our personal recipe to manage fitness. What works for me, may not work for you and what works for you may not work for me.

However, this should not stop us from sharing each other’s experiences. So here are the 3 things I added on and 3 things I reduced in my daily routines.

The 3 things I cut down :

Eating carbs after 7pm. This is super duper important to me. I only eat carbs in the morning and anytime before 7pm. After 7pm, I only eat non-carbs food like fruits, vegetables, nuts and high protein food. I do not starve after 7pm but if I feel really hungry late night, I would just go to bed to skip the thoughts of eating at night. I enjoy my food better in a good way when I chew my food longer. So chew more, then you eat less.

Consuming sugar. I drink about two tumbler size milk tea a day and I like things sweet. Therefore, I have to replace sugar with stevia and I use fresh milk in my tea. I never use condensed milk at all at home. I use grounded fresh stevia leaves in my tea and now I have a stevia in a planter box sitting next to my kitchen.

Fresh stevia from the garden

Processed food. I avoid eating anything processed in manner. I make my own meat patties and chicken fillets every weekend for a week’s family consumption. This is a lot of work but fun. Here’s my family favourite recipe for meet patties which we eat in the morning or afternoon together with bread and veges

You can also add honey onto cut chicken and top it up with lemon juice. You can be creative putting together spices of your choice. I prefer to cook them in a slow cooker to retain moist and flavour. Sometimes I bake them in a covered dish – to retain the moist.

The 3 things I add up:

Exercise. I try to run at least 4 times a week, 45 mins/run, 20 km collective mileage/week and improve my timing.

I run because it is the easiest and fast. You can run wherever you are.

Water. I drink more water because of running. I usually place a liter of water by my bed so that I can drink before I go to bed.

Fresh nutritional food and snacks with low calories. There are certain snacks that are low in calories, good for munching and packed with vitamins and minerals. You can also make your own low calorie snacks like muffins. These are my favorites.

My BMI is kept below 20 and I weigh myself everyday to monitor activities or food I consume. I know this is not recommended but it works for me. I still eat ice cream, cakes and chocolates occasionally like twice a week but I try to make healthier choices.

Other than the above, I donate blood at least twice a year. I find donating blood is a good way to remind myself to keep eating balanced, nutritional food. Not only it helps someone who is in need of blood, but it also helps improve my blood circulation.

Finding your own recipe can be fun, so do find your own recipe and make sure your recipe is backed by healthy choices!

Assalaamualaikum… I am feeling exceptionally grateful today so I decided to write about my Inspirations.

“Your ONLY limit is YOU”

Like every other souls in this temporary platform, the journey of life has presented itself with trials and challenges as promised. Each with its own uniqueness and timing. And like many others, I am bestowed with gifts at every pitfalls and crossroads (as promised!) and often, it comes in the form of a human being who came to shine light to my darkness. Because sometimes, we only need a little nudge or a hand to hold, to get back up on own feet and continue the run. Someone who inspires you. In my fitness journey, they are my inspirations…

First and foremost, meet mummy dearest. Mdm Mahlia, 62, homemaker, mother of 3 beautiful girls (ahem.. me being the middle child thank you) 41, 37 and 32. As a young girl, i don’t remember Mak ever being involved in sports but she was always busy helping my auntie, baking cakes or at home sewing curtains, clothes and bedsheets and making hand-crafted flowers to decorate our home. Our home is always beautiful and bright. Although not sporty, Mak is very sporting! She loves thrill rides like the Triple Looper @ Genting and banana boat rides (unlike Abah who will graciously decline to participate and volunteer to “jaga” our belongings instead). I know who i inherited my fearlessness from!

As the years passed, Mak put on quite a lot of weight (which she blames me for). When she was diagnosed with Diabetes and Hypertension a few years back, she took it upon herself to opt for a lifestyle change. She did not complain nor lament at her plight. She religiously followed the doctor’s advise, took care of her food intake, put in effort to reduce her weight and started to exercise. She did not really plan a workout schedule but incorporated them in her daily routine. She would sometimes cycle to my sister’s place (10km to and fro) or stop by the Fitness Corner at her neighbourhood for a 20-30mins workout before heading home to continue her duties.

Mak overcame her fear of swimming and joined me for class!

Today, Mak is actively involved in fitness activities organised by the mosques and community centres. She continues her daily routine and has loss nearly 15kg since she started. Her blood pressure and blood sugar level has also improved tremendously. When she got injured and tore a tendon in her right foot, she did not let that injury deter her one bit. We were slightly worried about her safety but I am amazed by her tenacity and determination to recover and get back in shape. I see that in her, all my life. That stubborness and never give up attitude. And it is that strength that got me through adversities and life’s worst moments especially during my time in the armed forces.

Mak… you are always my inspiration!

Our favourite past time – Chilling by the beach. Mak never wasted any opportunity to get wet and enjoy the waves

Meet Mdm Hayati, 52, homemaker, mother of 3 (23, 22 and 16). I love her bubbly-ness! There was never a dull moment when she is around. Kak B, as we lovingly call her, did not like any sports before. She hates getting sweaty she said but when she sustained a slipped disc and was immobilized for a month, she knew she had to do something.

“I do not want to die like this”.

Upon recovery, Kak B tried slow jogging but found it too strenuous for her due to her health condition. So she tried swimming as recommended by a friend. But she did not know how to swim. I met Kak B at the pool during one of my lessons in 2015. She approached us and requested to join our class. Allah definitely is the Best Planner! I think I learnt more from her than she did, ma shaa Allah. It’s always interesting and beneficial to hear these veterans talk about life and sharing their motherhood experiences. Makes one feel so humble yet excited for what more lies ahead.

“I feel more alive, healthier mentally and physically. Don’t let age be an obstacle for you to be active again. It is never too late to start.”

Today, Kak B swims 30 laps every week. She continues to amaze me with her constant cheerfulness and is always keen to learn more. She diligently listens to my instructions and continues to improve her strokes weekly. She can tread water for more than 5mins without breaking a sweat! I’m dying after just 2mins! Sometimes we had to pull her out of the water because while the rest is pancit after 20 laps, she is still smiling through 30… AMAZING!

Last but certainly not the least, meet my Iron ladies! They say “Friends who work out together, stays together”. And they prove it right. These ladies not only work out together but they eat together, attend religious classes and bakes together.

Kak Has and Kak Normah were both part of their school’s athletic club (donkey years ago) but sheepishly admitted that they stopped being active after marriage and having children. By 40, both commented that they became overweight and started to feel the strains due to the weight and inactivity. It was Kak Has who took up the challenge and participated in a “Lose to Win” programme organised by the Health Promotion Board (Singapore). She definitely loss weight but she also rediscovered the zeal of an active life again. Since then, Kak Has remains active with weekly programmes and participating in races. She completed Swissotel Vertical Marathon tau! Something I myself malas nak attempt hehehe… She then encouraged Kak Normah and Kak Mus to join her weekly activities. Kak Mus who has always been active ( you can tell by her sturdy posture and strong look) represented her school in hockey, badminton and softball. She continued being active doing brisk walking during her stint as a bus driver. She says she needs to do this because she wants to be able to keep up with her 11 -year-old daughter.

Now these iron ladies swims every Tuesdays/ Fridays. They also have Aquarobics on Thursdays and group training on Sundays. POWER kan! Of course, while being active, they never neglect their duties. They attend religious class on every other day and they are wonderful cooks and terrific mums+wives. They are always up and about attending new classes and searching for new makan places. Who dare says that we women cannot do everything?? All 3 agrees that being active makes them feel more energetic unlike their comrades who leads a more sedentary lifestyle. They say they are able to perform their ibadah and daily routines much better with a healthy body and mind.

“People sometimes laugh at us. Maybe they think its funny that we makcik-makcik is exercising. Tak pe…

Instead of talking so much or laughing at us, I think they should join us” – Kak Mustakizah

These 5 gems have definitely created a great impact in my life. Not only am I inspired to continue this fitness journey till I’m wrinkled and old, I learnt so much from them in other aspects of life as well, as a mothers, daughter, wife and friend. May Allah bless them with strength and perseverance to continues this journey.

“I’ve cut off my calorie intake, I maintain those regular exercises,..but..why am I NOT losing weight?”

And they will start to blame themselves by saying “Perhaps, my metabolism is low!”

Do you know what METABOLISM is ?

Metabolism is the chemical reactions that occur in our body. It requires energy for us to undergo living processes such as breathing, digesting, healing processes and etc.

And wait! Is your metabolism same as mine?

Each and everyone of us has different metabolic rate; it depends on your gender, age, body size and of course your genes.

Men have more muscles, high bone mass and therefore they have high metabolism compared to women. And as we grow older, we tend to loose muscle and gain fat, and these two lead to slow metabolism. People with big body size will have more fat, thus their metabolism is slow. Yes, genes basically play a role in determining your muscle growth and size – hence affects your metabolism.

But wait, to increase body metabolism, it is not all about building muscles. I will share a few tips that you can practice to boost your body metabolism.

1. Don’t miss your breakfast – Start your day with nutritional breakfast. It can start up your metabolism and keep your energy high throughout the day. People who skip breakfast tend to eat a lot during lunch and this will increase calorie intake more than what you need.

Eat them all!

2. Take enough protein– Our body needs protein to build muscle. The more muscles you have, the more calories you will burn. Besides, our body use up more calories to digest protein compare to fat and carbohydrates.

3. Eat enough everyday – It simply means consume food moderately and do not overeat. Do not starve yourself either. If you cut too much calories, your body will start to reduce metabolic reaction to conserve energy. Thus, the fat burning process will be slower. You will start to lose muscle and this will slow down your metabolism.

Be a Snow White – Eat an apple

3. Be active – When you increase physical activities, you will burn more calories. Build up more muscles by running and pilate regularly or perform strength training. You will use up more energy and burn those stubborn fat.

Marilah beramai-ramai bersukan sambil bersosial!

4. Drink a lot of water – take 3-4 litres of water per day to stay hydrated. Your body needs water to process those calories, if you are not drinking enough, your body will burn less calories, thus your metabolism will be slow down. Cut off your sweet drink, it contains high calories.

Bring a bottle full of water with you everyday.

6. Have adequate sleep– having sleep deprivation will increase cortisol level (stress hormone) in our blood. Thus, it will disrupt glucose metabolism, thus lead to glucose intolerance. Leptin will be reduced and ghrelin will increase. This can cause increase in appetite, craving and tendency to eat a lot unnecessary.

Be a Sleeping Beauty. After a run get a good sleep

Basically, you can still enjoy your food while maintaining a good metabolism.